I am a goal-oriented person, and I love the idea of New Year’s resolutions. However, I have really struggling with meeting mine for the past two years. In part, I think it’s because my goals were less about “doing” and more about “being”. I could kick some butt with a task-related resolution list, but doing things like slowing down and being more present. Hard. So hard for me. 
[source] These are the resolutions I made and failed for the past two years running, and continue to need to work on:
Separating work time from family time – Finding the balance of working at home has not come easy for me. I only have three half-days to complete what amounts to a full-time job. The other days Karis is home with me. I’m trying to make sure I am NOT working on those days, but inevitably I don’t get everything done in the time allotted. Which means I’m either working at night, or popping a DVD in and working while Karis is home, or working after the kids come home from school. I’d like to quit doing all of these things. Focusing on quality over quantity – this is related to above, but with the addition of some childcare I am trying to make sure that the time I am with the kids is focused on them, and the time I am away is focused on work. I think this is a win for all of us. Getting out of the house – I really struggle with this. I’m a homebody, and I have four kids. It’s so much easier to stay home. But I need to get out more. Keeping our house stocked with healthy foods – This is related to above. I have anxiety taking the kids shopping, but I also have way too much work to do to use my limited childcare days on solo grocery runs. When I get alone time, the last thing I want to do is spend it listening to horrible muzak at the grocery store. The result is that I go way too long between grocery store runs, which means we run out of fresh foods and start eating packaged stuff out of the pantry. I want to make a commitment to getting out and keeping the house stocked with fruits and vegetables. I also want to get us on some kind of menu schedule – a task that has alluded me my entire adult life. It is time. Going to bed on time – I find it very, very hard to go to bed at a reasonable time. I am tired and grouchy every day, and promise myself that TONIGHT I will get enough sleep. But then the kids go down and I have the blissful moments of solitude in a quiet home, and I get grabby about it. I become Gollum with his ring about my alone time. When I get it I gaze at it and call it “my precious”, and the consequence is that I am tired all day long from staying up until 2am. Turning off the internet – This is related to above, because I am quite sure that if I lost my internet connection at 10pm, that I would not be up until 2am. I can spend hours reading up on current events, reading blogs, shopping online, cleaning out my inbox, etc. There is always more to do, and I get a burst of energy late at night to get things done. I am contemplating putting an application on my computer that turns off my internet at a certain time, and only giving the password to Mark. Dealing with my emails – Is there a show about people who keep too many emails? Kind of like a Hoarders: Technology Edition? Because I need Jeff VonVonderen to come give me an intervention. Maintaining my friendships – This has been a hard one to balance, and I am hoping to re-instate some playdates that allow me some adult interaction, and also be more intentional about calling friends and making plans and (see above) getting out of my house. Getting outdoors and active – I at least want to get outdoors, get to the beach, and break a sweat a few days a week.
Those continue to be the things I need to work on. I’ve made a teeny bit of progress in the past year, but these are still my current struggles, How about you . . . did you make New Year’s resolutions? Is it something you do every year? Do you find it helpful? And if you don’t do them, why not?
